Legendary Australian captain Ricky Ponting has left Virat Kohli out of the ‘Fab Four,’ which includes the best players of modern cricket, including Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Joe Root.
Kohli has been under fire recently due to his disappointing performances in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
While he did score a century in the first Test, which India won in Perth, he posted a series of low scores and managed a total of 190 runs in the five-match series.
Steve Smith is currently in great form, having scored 141 runs in the first Test against Sri Lanka. This was his third century in the last four matches.
During the 141-run knock against Sri Lanka, Smith also completed his 10,000 runs in Test cricket, becoming the fourth Australian cricketer to do so.
Ricky Ponting heaped high praise on his compatriot, rating him as the “best player of his generation.”
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“Is he [Steve Smith] the best player of his generation? It’s hard to argue against it,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Ponting as saying.
“Joe Root is the other one now, and [Kane] Williamson’s record is outstanding as well. Joe’s last couple of years have elevated him right back up there, I think.”
Ponting mentioned that Kohli was at his peak five years ago; his records were unmatched. However, in recent years, he has been outperformed by the other three batters in the ‘Fab Four.’
“Five or six years ago, when this big four emerged, with [Virat] Kohli being one of those as well, Joe was probably down near the bottom part of that because he hadn’t made the hundreds the other guys had made, but he’s made 19 hundreds in the past four years,” he added.
“If you asked an Englishman they’d say Joe Root, if you asked an Aussie they’d say Steve Smith, and if you asked a Kiwi they’d say Kane Williamson.
“So it’s a tough one, but on the numbers themselves it’s pretty hard to argue against what he’s done.”
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